HDA, Supply Chain Partners Support Immediate Action on National Recommendations, Solutions to the Opioid Epidemic

February 2, 2018

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) and fellow members of the National Conference of Pharmaceutical Organizations (NCPO) have requested a meeting with the Trump Administration to identify and implement specific recommendations included as part of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.

In a statement, NCPO — a coalition that represents more than 300,000 pharmacy practitioners and pharmaceutical scientists, companies engaged in healthcare delivery, as well as pharmacy regulators and educators — stated that “[our] organizations respectfully request the opportunity to dialogue with the President and others in the Administration to discuss specific recommendations and plans for implementation and identify strategies to enhance the support of the stakeholder communities represented.”

“Turning the tide on the opioid epidemic requires a collaborative and systemic response that engages all stakeholders,” stated HDA President and CEO John M. Gray. “Our members, along with our supply chain partners represented by NCPO, are committed to working with policymakers to implement the urgent solutions we need that will protect patients and the public health.”

As the logistics experts in the supply chain, distributors are tasked with the primary responsibility of delivering all medicines to licensed pharmacies, hospitals and healthcare providers. Distributors work closely with enforcement officials and others across the pharmaceutical supply chain to make sure that patients with legitimate pain needs can access treatment, while also preventing abuse, misuse and diversion before it begins. 

Recently, HDA’s members endorsed a proactive set of policy solutions focused on addressing critical gaps in the country’s response to the epidemic, including:

• Improving patient education on safe use of pain treatments and on the options for disposing of unwanted medicines;
• Increasing awareness around partial-fill provisions for opioid prescriptions;
• Improving data sharing with state pharmacy boards;
• Enhancing state prescription drug monitoring programs;
• Facilitating the use of e-prescribing for controlled substances;
• Reviewing production quotas for opioids;
• Promoting access to naloxone;
• Reducing barriers to coverage of alternative pain treatments; and,
• Increasing federal funding for evidence-based treatments. 

These policy solutions build on the recommendations from the broader public health community. In addition to the report from the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis and recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, distributors are committed to advancing a thoughtful and comprehensive blueprint to ensure patients get the care they need, and, equally important, that the health system evolves to prevent prolonging this epidemic into the future.